Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

I came upon author Richard Roper’s novel quite by accident at the library, checked it out, but didn’t commit to it right away. It’s like hovering at the door of an event you don’t quite get, but feel curious about.

How much of my reading time do I want to give to a book about a guy whose job is tidying up after the deaths of the forgotten, whose social life occurs almost entirely online in the realm of model train nerds?

But story’s voice felt right, which is always the first hurdle for me. I stuck with Something to Live For and came away grateful. It’s a tale that exposes deep pain through a character’s extreme strategies at hiding it. And then there’s the dry British wit arriving just as it’s needed.

The book rewarded me with the thing I crave: Scenes that linger well after I’ve closed the book. Among my favorites — and this is only a slight spoiler — occurs when the formerly online-only friends agree to meet in the actual world. In a bar. Expectations get upended, then adjusted to. It’s a sweet bit of truth about real life.

If you come to the book, don’t strive for the story to make itself known quickly (this is my major flaw as a reader). I am glad the rushing-around me got talked down by the patient me. I’m glad Richard Roper’s novel and I found each other.